·When people talk about staked divisions they think of the UFC welterweight division.The best welterweights are here.There may be a handful of decent welterweights outside the UFC including Jake Shields, WEC’s Carlos Condit, Hayato Sakurai, Jay Hieron and Nick Thompson.

·Jake Shields will likely land in the UFC.That is what he wants and where he wants to be.There are a lot of potential match ups here for him.

·Thiago Alves will get a title shot in 2009 against the winner of Penn vs. St. Pierre.

·Martin Kampmann signed a new contract and should fight at 170

·B.J. Penn very well could become a fixture at 170 as he could vacate his lightweight title win or lose against St. Pierre.

Here are the best non-UFC fighters. This shows where the UFC is stacked and where they lack. There competition is mainly in Affliction at heavyweight and DREAM at lightweight. Here are the best non-UFC guys that the UFC should look to sign if possible.

Jamie Varner looked impressive and perhaps I underestimated his talent. He looked dominant against a very game Marcus Hicks. It appears he will fight the winner of the McCullough/Cerrone fight in Septmeber.

Josh Grispi may be a good challenge for Urijah Faber, but Faber must get through Brown first

Brian Stann showed he is one dimensional and Steve Cantwell showed he has a vast array of striking skills. I think Stann will get a rubber match soon though.

Brian Stann though he losses showed that he was a class act. He put the belt around Cantwell and he did nothing but show humility in defeat. I like Brian Stann for that.

Carlos Condit vs. Hirumitsu Miura was the fight of the night and one of the best I have seen. I underestimated Miura. He showed good ground game in reversing Condit numerous times and excellent Judo skills. He also showed very tough striking. I enjoyed the chess match here.

Condit showed why he is the champ. His conditioning is what proved to be the difference. I have no problem with the stoppage as Mirua laid there for a while after the fight. The question for Carlos Condit is where does he go now?

Some people say that this fight will have a different outcome than their last fight and I agree. I think the fight will last a little longer, but I don’t see Brian Stann losing. Brian Stann is a star in the making. I think he has all the goods to be a great fighter. I like Brian Stann. I think he will come off victorious in this fight by KO late in round 1.

Jamie Varner vs. Marcus Hicks

The 155 divison in the WEC is very weak, and Jamie Varner is the most likely champion in display at this event to lose. Marcus Hicks is a good fighter and he could very well beat Jamie Varner. I still think Varner wins this fight. I think Varner will win by decision.

Carlos Condit vs. Hirumitsu Miura

Carlos Condit is a great fighter. I think he is up there with the top fighters at welterweight. He should be mentioend in the same breath as St. Pierre, Fitch, Alves and Shields. I cannot imagine Condit losing this fight. Carlos Condit has great striking and awesome submissions. He doesn’t have a weakness. I think Condit wins this one in round 1 by submission.

Brian Bowles vs. Damacio Page

Brian Bowles is a talented fighter that can go a long way in the UFC. He is one of the ten guys in the WEC that I believe stack up well agaisnt UFC level talent. I look for him to win here.

This is a good fight on paper. The card would have been much better with the Sonnen vs. Filho II fight on it. I am looking forward to this fight, it has been billed as a good guy vs. bad guy fight. On one side you have the champ, Doug “Rhino” Marshall. He talks a lot of talk, he has a foul mouth and he looks the bad guy part. On the other side you have an army veteran, the “All American” Brian Stann. I am not going to pull any punches, I am rooting for Stann. I think he could be a great MMA fighter, especialyl if he has any ground game. Marshall may never find out. I am predicting a round 1 TKO for Stann. He is a potential star, and a win for Stann translates to $$$ for the WEC.

Today it was announced that June would be the date for the Urijah Faber vs. Jens Pulver fight. Also they announced a Miguel Torres vs. Manny Tapia bantamweight title fight. I am lookign forward to that card. Torres really impressed me against Beebe. He is 33-1. I think he could dominate that divison and then move up and beat Faber. The Faber vs. Pulver fight will be good. Pulver I thought was done in MMA and then he comes and beat Cub Swanson quickly. Faber is the man and the face of his division. I will root for and pick Faber and Torres to retain their belts.

I also wonder what other title defenses will come. When will Paulo Filho get it together and come out of rehab ready to fight? Who will he fight? I would say Filho will be offered the winner of the Sonnen vs. Baker fight tonight, which I am not counting out Baker to win. Who will Jamie Varner face in his first title defense? My bet would be a re-match with Rob McCullough. I think Razor Rob is a better fighter than Varner and will get the belt back eventually. Who will Carlos Condit next fight? Heaven knows, he is awesome. The WEC has done well and have 4 or 5 stars in Faber, Torres, Filho, Stann, and Condit. The WEC is better off when these guys win. I’d still like to see some of them against the best in the UFC, especially Condit and Filho. If Faber could move to 155, he could be a great UFC fighter.